Focused on little more than keeping the floor moving, jump-up is doubtlessly the least respected jungle subgenre. Blame it on Aphrodite and the crew based at the Joker label, who trot out the same gimmicks time and again (... more &raquobut give them credit for keeping the music danceable when the rest of the scene went comatose). Don't blame the folks at the True Playaz label. DJ Zinc, DJ Hype, Pascal, and the rest of their gang have kept the party vibe alive in jungle without sacrificing an iota of the music's complexity. What makes True Playaz in the Mix so impressive isn't just the high quality of the tracks--including the immortal skank of Zinc's "Reachout"--but the way the music inspires Hype's peerless scratching and the way his turntable skills elevate the music. It's the opposite of a vicious cycle--a symbiotic meeting of vinyl and DJ that sends things spiraling into the stratosphere. Until it actually ends, 64 minutes down the line, you'd begun to think it couldn't. --Jeff Salamon&laquo less

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Focused on little more than keeping the floor moving, jump-up is doubtlessly the least respected jungle subgenre. Blame it on Aphrodite and the crew based at the Joker label, who trot out the same gimmicks time and again (but give them credit for keeping the music danceable when the rest of the scene went comatose). Don't blame the folks at the True Playaz label. DJ Zinc, DJ Hype, Pascal, and the rest of their gang have kept the party vibe alive in jungle without sacrificing an iota of the music's complexity. What makes True Playaz in the Mix so impressive isn't just the high quality of the tracks--including the immortal skank of Zinc's "Reachout"--but the way the music inspires Hype's peerless scratching and the way his turntable skills elevate the music. It's the opposite of a vicious cycle--a symbiotic meeting of vinyl and DJ that sends things spiraling into the stratosphere. Until it actually ends, 64 minutes down the line, you'd begun to think it couldn't. --Jeff Salamon